Letters To The Editor

At a recent school board meeting, I stood up to speak—not to argue, but to ask our community to refocus on the real challenges facing our students. What I witnessed that night was deeply troubling: a growing effort to target trans students and trans athletes, often based on fear, misinformation, and political rhetoric. We owe […]

I’ve been living with kidney failure since 2019. Like so many Californians, I’ve faced more than just one diagnosis—diabetes, high blood pressure, gastroparesis, gout—and even the amputation of my foot due to sepsis. Dialysis, an intensive treatment done three times per week to keep me alive, has permanently affected my life. But I’ve fought every […]

As a lifelong resident of Orcutt, I’ve watched this community grow and change over the years—but some things haven’t changed at all. One of those is the empty Richards Ranch property, which has sat vacant for more than 40 years, growing weeds instead of providing homes and opportunities for local families.  I knew the original […]

These are indeed trying times. The hits on my 401k do not allow me to visit my friends in Canada, and my Canadian friends are telling me there is no way in hell they are going anywhere “south of the border.” I will miss them. I can no longer avoid buying Chinese products at Walmart […]

I sat down a few minutes ago and brainstormed the likely near-term consequences of the public’s inability to reverse the Trump/Musk administration’s virtual destruction of our government and the cessation of our constitutional rights. I regret to say that none of this is hyperbole. The catastrophic implications of our current situation are as follows: • […]

Rent control in Santa Barbara County mobile home parks only benefits month-to-month tenants; those with leases are exempt from rent control. Rent increases for residents with leases is at the discretion of the park owner and average 4 to 8 percent for up to five years or more. As prices go up, rents go up, […]

I am 70 years old, and I want to retire. I can financially live on my Social Security income with supplements from my savings. I planned and saved for this. But now I’m fearful and not sure if Social Security will be around much longer. Is talking to others about Social Security political talk? Is […]

We face the greatest threat to democracy and our constitution in our lifetime, if not in the history of the republic, and the Democratic “leadership” is AWOL! A coup has usurped judicial and legislative roles, consolidating them all in the executive branch. Meanwhile, past presidents are mute; the Senate minority leader has become an enabler; […]

As an elder, I’ve lived through many political crises in this country—but I have never seen an attack on our democracy like this. In the past, there was bipartisan opposition to lawlessness. Today, the guardrails are being dismantled before our eyes, and we must sound the alarm. The damage this administration has done to our […]